Avatar: The Next Battle
by LovexandxDemise
Summary: After two years of piece since the end of the 100 year war, something has happened, something that will risk the peace that everyone has strived for.  And who can save the day?  Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, and Zuko of course.  Who else?
1. The Meeting

The meeting was to take place at the Northern Water Tribe. Chief Arnook and our dad, mine and Sokka's, had planned ahead for over a month. They wouldn't be leading the actual meeting, that was being left to some important guy coming in from Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom capitol. Generals, soldiers, political figures, skilled benders, city leaders, and other honored guests started showing up about a week before. Sokka, Aang, and I had been there for three weeks now, preparing different things. Aang's hair was long, for him anyway, and he refused to cut it. He was trying to keep his scalp warm because he'd been living with us in the cold for over a year now. Sokka's had grown out too, but you couldn't tell from the ponytail, and I'd cut myself some bangs and given up the braid. But anyway, we'd been cleaning and furnishing and rearranging rooms in the palace at the top of the city, and any extra rooms if people were willing to sacrifice a part of their homes.

Toph, Suki, and Iroh showed up the day before the meeting, the same day we got the seating chart. Aang was ecstatic to have Toph back in the gang. I think he missed his Earth bending teacher. And Sokka was flipping out over Suki being there. They immediately went off together. Aang went to show Toph where her room was, and I stayed behind to talk to General Iroh. "How was your trip here?" I asked.

"Very cold," he answered in his usual pleasant voice. "Even the warmth from the coal burning could not warm my old bones!"

"Awwe, well I hope you'll be warmer here off the sea. Did Zuko come with you?"

Iroh's face fell. "Uhh, no, he didn't. He had some business to attend to before heading over. He will be here either tonight or tomorrow."

"Oh, okay."

"Katara," he said, and his voice was grave, "I must ask you to do something for me."

I blinked. "Uhh, yes, what it is?"

"Please, no matter how much Zuko has changed, for the good or for the bad, please show him the utmost kindness and understanding. Please."

I nodded, and then walked away, wondering what in the world he meant by that.

Early the next morning I was woken up by the sound of Sokka and Aang yelling, "ZUKO'S SHIP IS HERE!"

I got up and followed them down to the docks. A couple soldiers were walking in front of Zuko, and he had his hood up. I stepped in front of Sokka about the same second Zuko stepped in front of the soldiers. "Aren't you going to look at me?" I asked jokingly. Zuko paused, and then slowly lowered his hood, and I understood what Iroh had meant. There was a huge line of stitches running from the right corner of Zuko's mouth, and ending just before the point where his cheek met his ear, almost like his smile had been crudely extended by a very bad artist. I swallowed my surprise as best I could and gave him a smile, then reached up and hugged him. "It's good to see you."

He was shaking, and his arms gripped me weakly. "You too." I knew I was holding a broken man in my arms.

We all walked up the steps to the palace, and entered the main hall at the entrance. There was a long, low table taking up the center of the room, with cushions for people to sit on either side. People stared at Zuko as we came in, mouthes agape, and I glared at them as we passed. They had no right. There was large man, who I assumed was the general from Ba Sing Se, sitting at the head of the table. To his left, my right, was our dad, and on the other side was Arnook and Aang's waiting place. Dotted around the table were Jong Jong, Pakku, Bato, Haru, Teo, the Earth King, the remaining freedom fighters, the other Kyoshi warriors (who Sokka and Suki noticed and immediately ran to), Mai and Ty Lee, June, King Bumi, and Master Piandao. There were all of the nations' banners hanging on the walls, along with flags of the Kyoshi Warriors, Sandbenders, and The Order of the White Lotus. Someone even put up a tiny banner for the Freedom Fighters, with Jet's date of birth and death on it.

Zuko and I were seated in between Iroh and a boy who seemed way too young to be there. Usually it's easy to tell what nation a person is by their dress, but all he had on was a brown shirt with a hole in it, black pants, and two sizes too big brown boots. His black hair was messy and looked like it needed a brushing too, but his big grey-blue eyes were wide with fear and excitement to be there. He looked up at me as I sat down. I smiled at him, and he blushed, before turning his attention to a large hole in the sole of his left boot.

The large man at the front suddenly stood up. He turned to a thin gentleman wearing glasses next to him and asked, "All in?" The eye glass gentleman looked around, and then checked a piece of paper in his hands. Then he nodded. The large leader looked back at us all, and began to speak. "Ladies and gentleman," he said, "My name is General Hichoew. I have witnessed most of the previous war first hand, along with many others. For the past two and a half years we have been in the middle of an armistice. Yes, this peace has not lasted. I do not know how much of you know exactly what has occurred, or whether you know the entire story. However, that shall all be revealed today."

He paused for dramatic effect, and then continued. "Two months ago, former Fire Lord Ozai and his daughter, the ex-princess Azula, escaped from prison. They managed to gather some followers, high jack a Fire Navy ship, and are now hiding out very close to Kyoshi Island, according to recent information. Ozai and Azula have been training followers and creating an army of their own. It may not be incredibly large right now, but it is powerful. However, with the help of all of you, along with additional forces, we will be able to conquer them and continue with this time of serenity." There was a short round of applause, along with a bit of worried whispering. The large general said after the room was quiet once more, "Now will be the time for each of the guests that have recieved my invititation to speak. They are each experts in a certain field, or have great knowledge that we can use. I would like to start off with the current Fire Lord, Zuko." He waved his hand in Zuko's general directions while a few people clapped, and then sat down on his cushion.

Zuko sighed heavily and removed his black cloak. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, which had grown a good four to five inches longer since the last time I'd seen him and now covered his face to the tip of his nose, and stood up. "Uhh, well," he started shakily, "thank you all for being here today. Soo ... well I'd like to apologize for my attire." He tried a half hearted laugh, which nobody returned. He didn't look too bad actually for wearing a large, sloppy red shirt and pants that came to the knees with tight black thermals on underneath. "I was thinking more comfort wise, seeing as we'll be here ... awhile ... uhh ..." Everyone was staring at him. Somebody coughed, and I heard him mutter, "Shit." He cleared his throat and continued, "Well, as you've heard, not too long ago my father Ozai and sister Azula managed to escape from prison. They were assisted by a guard who used to be my father's grade school friend. They-"

Someone in the back interrupted, "Did you hang him?"

"Uhh ..."

"The guard! Did he get what he deserved?"

"Well, uhh, he wasn't killed, no, but-"

The interrupter stood up. He was older, maybe in his fifties or sixties, and a Water Tribe member. "That bastard should've been hanged or burned! Letting the only thing that can harm us now out and loose! It's a disgrace! And you didn't-"

"Stop!" Zuko shouted. The man fell silent. "I'm sorry for yelling," he added. "That was wrong of me. Anyway, I did not order him to be killed. Maybe that means I'm weak. But after all the years of fighting, I didn't want more death brought on my by nation." He brushed his hair out of his eyes again. "So, uhh, the night Ozai escaped ... Well, a guard who I've become friends with had a birthday, and I took him and a couple other guards and palace help out to a nice dinner. I'd been feeling a bit under the weather, so I backed out a bit early while everyone else was ordering drinks after the meal and walked home, denying an escort. I didn't want to ruin anyone's fun. About a quarter of a mile from the palace, I was hit over the head and dragged into an alley. It was Ozai. We exchanged a few choice words which I won't repeat in polite conversation, and then he told me of his plans. Ozai and Azula had planned that escape for a year. Once out, they were to steal a boat and sail over to a remote location in the Earth Kingdom, which we now know is very close to Kyoshi Island. Then they were going to send messages back to anyone they thought they could still trust with directions to the meeting place. Apparently these individuals could be trusted, because no one has come forward to me or any other Fire Nation officials.

"Before he left, Ozai offered me a position on this campaign, and I uhh, basically told him to off himself. He ... said something to the effect that he's burned me once, and he can do it again, and then ... cut open my mouth." Zuko looked down at his feet and quietly concluded, "And that's all I have to say," before sitting down. He put his face in his hands and didn't look up.

After that speech a lot of boring people talked about boring topics; historians talked about the royal family, generals talked about past war tactics that could be reused, and things like that. All that time Zuko kept his face in his hands. Finally, after over two hours of nothingness in the conversation (and many sore tushies, considering the only thing between us and the ice floor was a small cushion), somebody interesting got up to speak: the little boy who'd been sitting next to me.

The boy got up and dragged a bag that had been on his other side up to the front with him. He dropped the bag onto General Hichoew's lap, turned to the audience, and said in a high pitched and excited voice, "Well, hi everybody!" Zuko peaked through his fingers at this new speaker. There was a pause, and then a curious "hello" back. The kid smiled. "I've been really interested in everything you've all had to say, and I think everyone here is really smart and fit for the job, but you've all left out one thing." He turned around and pulled a bunch of scrolls out of his bag. He fumbled with them for a minute, found the one he wanted, and turned to the bespectacled gentleman next to him and the general. "Could you please hold this up for me?" The gentleman begrudgingly took the paper and opened it up for us all to see. It looked almost like an air balloon combined with a boat, and then that was put on top of an ostrich-horse's legs, which were ten times bigger than they're supposed to be. There were overlapping lines though, and it almost seemed like certain pieces could fold up and down. All in all it was one crazy ass contraption.

"What the heck is that?" someone called out.

"Transportation!" the boy exclaimed. "Admiral Quinne, I believe, said something about sending troops down to Kyoshi, and a lot of other people went back and forth on that idea. But how could we get there in a timely fashion, and then be able to use the vehicles as a defense mechanism if we go into battle? Using this!" He pointed a tiny finger at the drawing. "See these?" he asked, moving his finger to the leg looking things. "These things can be easily controlled, if built right, and they'd be flexible, so they'd act like real legs. You could pull a lever and use them to kick enemies out of the way. And then they fold up and you can sail or fly, depending on the terrain being crossed." He took the picture away from the gentleman, threw it into the general's lap, and took another one, which he then handed to the gentleman, who rolled his eyes and opened it. It was a closer view of the top of the device.

I looked at Zuko. He'd taken his face completely out of his hands, and was staring intently at the boy and his diagrams, his chin resting in his palm. How he could actually see through his hair, I had no clue. As soon as I got the chance, I was cutting that mane of black mess.

The boy continued, pointing to a compartment drawn in on the device, "Here is where the balloon piece could be stored, and deployment would be simply the push of a button. The water propellers can then double as the air propellers. And there are also guns on the side. Any questions?" He turned to the crowd of people, but nobody had any questions. "Uhh, okay!" He took his papers, and then sat back down next to me.

I smiled and said, "Excellent job." He blushed.

General Hichoew stood up after a moment of talking. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, and the room fell silent. "I have a suggestion." Many people in the congregation nodded at this, meaning for him to continue. "I have enjoyed listening to all of you speak, and I am most certainly going to take all of it into account. I would like to add one more thing to the overall plan though. Throughout all of this talking we have all surrounded ourselves with one main goal: build up an army of our own, and march to battle against Ozai's forces. However, wouldn't it be a good idea to know what he's actually doing and planning, and what his strategies are before we head out?" Many mouths formed the words "yes" and "of course". "I suggest that we send one or more scouts down to Ozai's hide out ahead of time while we build things, gain weapons, and train our soldiers. Then, we can meet the scouts and they can give us additional information, so we can alter anything that may need to be altered."

Aang stood up. "I'll go," he said jovially, giving the general a goofy smile.

"Very well, and who shall go with you?" Immediately, without any further discussion, Zuko, Sokka, Suki, Toph, the boy with the travelling machine, and I all stood up. The general shook his head. "No Collin, you aren't going."

The boy protested immediately. "WHY NOT? I'm almost eleven! I can do it! You know I can!"

"Yes, I know you can, but we need you here. Who else will supervise the building of your transportation?"

Collin crossed his arms and sat back down, muttering angrily.

The general smiled at all of us standing and announced, "Then you will be the ones to go ahead and be our scouts. Congratulations, and may the best of luck be with you! We shall have a briefing meeting later this evening in my quarters, after dinner. At this time now, the meeting is dismissed. Everyone rest up before our feast tonight!"

I looked around at each of Aang's, Sokka's, Toph's, Suki's, and Zuko's faces. The old gang was back together.


	2. Our Last Hoorah

We all walked out into the late afternoon sunlight, stretching and yawning after being in one spot all day. Aang turned to us all and opened his mouth, but Zuko cut him off. "Don't say one word about any of us not going," he stated blankly. "We don't care about danger or anything, and you should know that by now. So don't try to argue, because the decision is final."

"That's the spirit!" Zuko jumped as General Hichoew came up behind him and slapped his hand down on his shoulder. "You're all very brave young men and women, and I'm glad you've decided to go." Zuko shook the general off of his shoulder, and skulked off, his hands in fists.

"What's his problem?" Sokka asked to nobody in particular. Toph shrugged.

"Anyway," General Hichoew continued, "I would like all of you to meet me after the feast tonight. You may go up to your rooms and get out of your formal clothes if you wish first. I'll be waiting for you right here, and we will go to a quiet place to discuss matters together." He waved at us and then continued down the stairs.

I was walking back to my room to get ready for the night (it was formal dress according to your nation or other organization of choice), when I heard some very loud coughing coming from a bathroom on the left side of the hallway. I walked closer, intending to knock, when Zuko came out and ran into me. "Sorry," we said together. He was shirtless, with his hair dripping and a towel around his waist. "Why are you walking around practically naked in the palace?" I asked, smirking at him.

"I just got out the shower, and my room is right there," he answered, pointing to a door at the end of the hall, which was right next to mine actually.

"Oh. Was that you coughing?"

"Yeah. I said I've been under the weather. Why?"

I shrugged. "Just asking. Maybe you should stay back and rest before we have to meet with Hichoew. Someone could bring you up dinner."

"Since when are you in charge of me or my head-colds?" he retorted jokingly. I lightly punched him in the arm. He walked into his room and I walked into mine.

I heard Sokka and Aang walk down the hall about a minute later and walk into Zuko's room, and then Sokka screamed, "ZUKO PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!"

"LEARN HOW TO KNOCK! THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIND!"

"Idiots," I muttered. Suki and Toph walked into my room then.

Toph turned her head towards me and stated, "I'm blind, so which are you picking: hair or makeup?"

"Hair," I said, smiling.

"I was gonna pick makeup anyway," Suki added.

There was a lot of banging, loud laughing, and other odd noises coming from the three boys next door. Lots of things were being slammed around on the walls. I got a dress out for Toph, and Suki got out a makeup pallet to fit with the color( lots of light pastel greens and pinks), and we got to work. "Why don't you ever wear your hair down?" I asked Toph. I was brushing it out, and her hair really was so beautiful.

"It gets in my way."

"But it's in your face all the time anyway."

"There's a difference."

Something next door crashed to the floor, and Aang, or someone who sounded like Aang, screeched. Suki rolled her eyes. "Pathetic."

As soon as Toph was done, Suki started getting dressed while I looked through my things for a dress to wear. Toph looked really beautiful actually, even if she didn't know it. Her dress was a very light pale green, with greenish-yellow designs on the bottom, shoulders, and up her neck, where the dress buttoned just below her chin. Hey eyes were colored with the same pale green, with a very light pale pink on her lips and cheeks.

Suki was going to do her usual Kyoshi makeup. Her dress was the same shade of green as her uniform, but much less bulky and more elegant, with a brown shawl over her shoulders. She left her hair a bit wavy, and didn't bother with the ponytail in the back.

I was throwing clothes around the room looking for something to put on when all of a sudden there was a huge thud from the other side of the wall, and Zuko yelled, "SOKKA LET GO! This isn't a toy! It's not something you can just yank around for no reason!" Then a more muffled cry from Aang, "Get him Sokka!" It sounded like he was under Zuko or Sokka, or a large object of sorts. Then another thud.

"Really?" Suki sighed. She walked next door, and we heard her yell, "What the hell are you three -" and then silence. She came back over with her hand over her eyes.

"What are they doing?" I asked.

"You don't want to know."

I ended up picking out a lavender dress with the shoulders cut out, with swirling navy blue and white designs on the bottom and top. The sleeves were a very thin silk and transparent. Suki did my hair in a very intricate braided up-do. My makeup was simple, pale blue. The sun was going to set in about an hour, when Toph asked, "Wait ... don't all the women need an escort?"

"Well, ... technically yeah, I guess," I said.

"Who am I supposed to go with?"

"I don't think it'll really matter."

"Maybe ..."

Suki suggested, "Why not ask Zuko?"

"He has Mai, doesn't he?" I asked.

Suki smirked. "That's not what I heard. She dumped him as far as I know. Like, REALLY dumped him. Just left the palace one day with some other guy, didn't even give a reason, and hasn't talked to him since."

Toph's eyes widened as she stared at the floor. "Who told you that?"

"Sokka. He asked Zuko where Mai was, and he told him that."

I left the room, walked next door, and knocked. "It's Katara."

Zuko opened the door. His hair was in a ponytail, with his bangs hanging in his face. It was cute, actually, but completely lop-sided and messy. He was still shirtless, and the scar from where Azula has shot him was clearly visible. At least he'd managed to put pants on. "Yeah?"

"Go with Toph down to dinner, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good, thanks."

"Sure, yeah." He shut the door, and then I heard him yell, "WHAT DID I TELL YOU BEFORE, ASSHOLE?"

I rolled me eyes as I walked back into the room. "He said okay, Toph." She smiled a little. I really didn't see the big deal about her going alone, or why she was making a fuss about it. Oh well.

We met everyone else down at the entrance to the main hall of the palace. There was a large waterfall in front of us, that would be water bended apart to act as a door when everything was supposed to start. Sokka stood arm in arm with Suki in line, rolling his eyes and complaining. "The whole reason we're here was for the meeting, and instead of making THAT a big deal, they make the DINNER a big deal. This is so ridiculous."

"Just wait until we have to start dancing," Zuko added, equally exasperated.

"We have to do what?" Sokka and Toph gasped at the same time.

Zuko rolled his eyes and sighed, "The main guests have to start the dance tonight. That would basically be all of us. Couples go out one by one, so Aang and Katara will go first, then me and Toph, and then Sokka and Suki. It sucks but whatever."

I groaned. I can't dance. I turned around a little. The line of men and women arm in arm had gotten bigger behind us. I'm sure there were people already in the other room, but important people were coming in with a bang. Ridiculous.

Music started on the other side of the waterfall, and then it broke apart, and we all walked in, first me and Aang, then Zuko and Toph, then Sokka and Suki, and whoever else was behind us. All six of us had seats at the head table on the other side of the room, on the left side of the table (right side looking at it) next to my dad and General Hichoew. As soon as everyone was seated, servants in white suits immediately started sprinting around the room with trays of elegantly plated dishes from all over the world. Aang and Sokka immediately started grabbing at everything they could get their hands on (Aang avoided the meat dishes though), and within five seconds their plates looked like food mountains, and their cheeks were stuffed like chipmunk-bats. Pigs. Zuko, on the other hand, was taking nothing, and instead just sipping tea through pursed lips with a very seriously concentrated look on his face. "What's wrong?" I asked, taking a roll with green oily dip smeared on one half of it. He just shook his head. "Are you holding your breath?" He nodded. "Why?"

Zuko let out a mouthful of air and took a deep breath before answering. "I'm trying not to cough."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Just cough into your napkin or your elbow."

"It's not that kind of cough."

I rolled my eyes. "Just cough, will you?"

He turned his torso around to face the back wall, and coughed into his elbow. Sokka leaned over, and said with his mouth full, "Jeez, you offing up a ung ov there?"

"What?"

He swallowed. "Are you coughing up a lung over there or what?"

"No," Zuko answered. "I'm sick."

Dinner went on pretty much like that afterwards; Zuko trying not to cough, Toph punching him to make him cough involuntarily to get a laugh, Sokka and Aang stuffing their faces and then trying to talk without anyone understanding them, Suki and me talking about this and that over Sokka's head, and so on and so forth. Then it was time to dance before dessert was served. Great, haha, not.

Aang and I got up and walked down to the floor together as the band began to play. We bowed to one another, and then it was like being back in that cave in the Fire Nation again. It wasn't too bad after the first minute of moving around, and half way through the song Zuko and Toph joined up. Zuko looked like he was going to be sick. Was he really that bad of a dancer? Nope. He was better than anybody I'd ever seen. Toph actually put her head up in his direction. Then Sokka and Suki came out. At the end we all bowed to one another, and then everyone else joined us who wanted to dance. We did a couple more songs, and then someone called out, "Switch partners!" I got jostled around, and ended up in Zuko's arms. It was a slower waltz, and I kind of wished I was with Aang, but this was the next best thing. Better than getting stuck with two-left feet Sokka.

"So ... this is awkward," Zuko said, trying and failing to start an interesting conversation.

"Uhh, I guess."

"Umm ... you, uhh ... you look very beautiful tonight. I mean, so do Toph and Suki and everybody, but ... just saying ..."

"Thanks. Your uniform is ... quite spiffy."

He laughed a little. "Spiffy?"

"Well ..." I wanted to say what had been on my mind since that morning, but I didn't want to be rude. I decided to go ahead, and try not to sound overbearing or motherly. I failed. "So ... I'm sorry about your face and everything."

Zuko's smile fell. "Don't worry about it. I've been through worse."

"How, if you don't mind me asking, did you get back to the palace after Ozai left you?"

"I walked. I actually ended up collapsing at the gates. Your mouth has more blood than you think, and I lost a lot of it. For some reason nobody gave me an anesthetic when they were sewing my cheek back together. It hurt ... a lot."

"I'm sorry."

"Katara, really, it's okay." He looked down at his feet. I realized then that his hand was on my waist. I mean, it was part of the dance, but for some reason I felt bad about it being there, for Aang's sake anyway. But my arm was around his neck, so ... 'Stop thinking like that, Katara,' I told myself. 'He's a friend. Nothing else.' Luckily the song ended at that point.

Just then someone on stage with the band yelled, "ZUKO! Now?"

Zuko turned and gave the guy a thumbs up. He turned back to me and said, "I gotta go. Tell Toph I'll be right back if you see her, okay?"

"Okay." He smiled at me, and then ran up to the stage. I watched as he hugged the guy who had yelled. He took his hair down and shook his head back and forth a little, and then lifted the top section of his armer over his head. He looked like the old Zuko again, not the one chasing Aang but the one who'd changed his stars, except with longer hair that I was determined to get rid of, and I was glad to see him smile a little. Someone from the back came out and handed him a very odd looking thing. It looked like a guitar, but a weird one, with a longer neck and thinner body. The body wasn't round either, more like two circles but together with a big bite out of the top one from some creepy instrument eating monster of sorts.

Someone on stage who I couldn't see said, "Change partners!" again, and I ended up with Haru. He smiled at me. Then the music began to start. It was a funny tune, and I looked up at the stage. Zuko was playing by himself on the weird guitar, but he wasn't using a pick. He was using his fingers, which were laced with tiny flames I assumed he was bending, making the strings gleam as he plucked at them. After a repeat of the tune, the whole band came in. It was a good song. The other instruments died down a little, then Zuko started singing. He was really, really good, actually. I was really surprised at how good he was, standing up there singing and jamming on the guitar with a huge smile on his face.

"I never knew he was so talented," Haru commented, jerking his head a bit towards the stage.

"Neither did I."

Afterwards Zuko got off stage and carried his armer and hair ribbon back to the table. The servants in white started coming out from the back with desserts. We all got back in our places. Sokka clapped Zuko on the back a couple times while he was putting his hair back up. "You did good my friend, you did good."

"Thanks. But now my throat hurts more than it did before."

"Have some of that then," Aang said, pointing to a bowl of pink and green frozen custard with blue, purple, and yellow sprinkles on top.

Zuko took that and a spoon. "So who else thinks that this whole dinner was blown out of proportion and a waste of time?" he asked. We all raised our hands, and Toph said, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

General Hichoew leaned over and interjected, "Awwe, come on. This is one of the only times the nations can get together and enjoy themselves. Don't take this whole thing the wrong way. It's a very rare cultural event. Plus I like to help throw a party." He laughed at this, and then went back to his fruit tart.

Toph got up and said, "Well, I'm gonna get some air and take a walk around the city. See you guys later."

Zuko stood up too. "I'll go with you."

"I'm fine by myself."

"I'm supposed to be your escort."

Toph rolled her eyes and blew a puff of air through her teeth up at her hair. "Fine."

They walked out together, and Sokka leaned over and commented, "Don't you think they'd be a really cute couple?"

"Eww, no!" Suki said, scrunching up her face. "That would never work."

"Yeah, I don't know about that one, Sokka," I added. Aang laughed.

"Hey, I'm just sayin'."

People started heading off to bed after dessert, even though the band was playing again. They were playing slower songs this time though, so maybe it was putting people to sleep. Aang took my hand and we walked out onto the floor together. It was nice to slow dance with him. We never really had before. I laid my head on his shoulder (he'd grown, and was an inch or two taller than me now) as we moved in a small circle. Suki and Sokka followed suit, along with a few other couples. I actually saw Mai dancing with some buff guy in a Fire Navy uniform. She was glaring to her right, and I looked in the same direction. Zuko and Toph had gotten back. Zuko was holding Toph like one would hold a toddler, and dancing in a slow circle. Toph had her legs wrapped around the front of his waist, her arms around his neck, and her head was laying on his left shoulder. He had one hand supporting her in that position, and another around her back. They were talking, I could see their lips moving, but I couldn't hear the conversation. By the look of Mai's face, I was betting she could hear them perfectly. Maybe Sokka was right. I mean, they didn't look BAD together. Well ...

At the end of the night, once all the other guests had gone, we all made our way out to the front, Zuko still carrying Toph. General Hichoew came soon after, and together we all started walking to his quarters for our meeting. This night was everyone's last hoorah. No more fun from now on.


End file.
